


Luffy was Kidnapped?!

by Mugiwara_ya_25



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Shirohige Kaizoku-dan | Whitebeard Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-03-20 19:39:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3662478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mugiwara_ya_25/pseuds/Mugiwara_ya_25
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ace is worried about Luffy, who's always getting into trouble. Marco offer's to go and check on Ace's little brother, but it looks like he may have ended up with more than he bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Older Brother's Anxiety

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, all that credit goes to Oda Eiichiro.

The sun was shinning, the ocean was calm, and the temperature was just right with a cool breeze sweeping across the Moby Dick. All in all Marco was perfectly content setting up in the Crows Nest. The first mate of the Whitebeard Pirates had _FINALLY_ finished all of his paper work and actually got it done early for once. So Marco was enjoying the relaxing moment while it lasted. Lets face it when you’re the first mate of the famous Whitebeard pirate and you have as many trouble making family members as he did there was never long before something happened (especially with Ace and Thatch currently on board). Not that Marco minded all that much it just meant life was never boring. 

Marco knew that something was going to happen soon though. It had been way to quit on the ship recently, not to mention Ace had been acting strangely the last two or three days. Even though he had only officially (meaning it was just recently that he stopped trying to kill Pops everyday) joined the crew last month the kid was pretty easy to read. He had been eating less, not playing pranks, and taking up the habit of pacing and mutter to himself. He could tell the boy was going to snap soon. 

"Pops, hey Pops! I need to talk to you about something important." A voice called from the foot of the giant captains chair, causing Marco to lean over the edge of the Crows Nest to get a better look. _'About time'_ Marco thought as he caught sight of Ace. 

"What is it son?" Whitebeard asked while looking down at his newest and youngest son. 

"Well you see, I have a brother three years younger than me back home. His name is Luffy. He's pretty strong so I normally wouldn't worry about him, but I haven't been able to shake this feeling that something really bad is going to happen to him. He seems to attract trouble, not to mention our gramps is crazy. Gramps has been _'training'_ Luffy (and me) to be a _'Marine'_ for as long as he came remember. Gramps made him fight monkeys, threw him into a bottomless ravine, left him alone in the jungle at night, tied him to balloons and sent him flying into the sky, and not to mention his _'Fist of Love'_. That's only the things that gramps did to him to, if my little brother wasn't made out of rubber I fear he would have never made it passed the age of seven." Ace stated in a serious tone. 

"Gurarara... that sounds like one troublesome little brother." Laughed Whitebeard. 

Ace's speech was beginning to worry Marco a little. Just what type of family did Ace have? It sounded like he just called his grandfather abusive. He wanted to go find the poor kid right now if only to protect him from future abuse from his so called grandfather. Then he remembered something Ace had said and completely forgetting he was technically eavesdropping the first mate jumped down from the Crows Nest and asked in an even tone, "What do you mean _'that's only the things that gramps did to him'_? What else could have possibly happened to the poor kid, yoi?" 

"Oh, Marco didn't realize you where here. Well all that stuff happened to Luffy before I met him. Gramps brought him to live me and the mountain bandits when he was seven a lot of other stuff happened afterwards to. Let's see he was eaten by an alligator on more than one occasion, beaten by a pirate wearing spiked gloves for a few hours, drowned on a daily basis, we were almost burned alive, oh yeah and he was also shot once or twice... maybe a few dozen times." Ace finished with a mumbled as the older blonde man came to stand beside him. 

"… Raised by mountain bandits, eaten, almost burned alive, drowning, and being at shot, yoi." Marco repeated dryly while internally screaming _'ARE YOU SERIOUS!'_

"I see and do you normally feel that somethings going to happen to him?" The old man asked in a somber tone. 

"Normally only before gramps visits, but this time the feeling is really bad." Ace said uneasily. 

"Then maybe you should go check on him, just to be on the safe side." Pops suggested. 

"I really want to, but Dawn Island is all the way in the East Blue it would take me at best two months to get there by myself. That’s way I was wanting to ask you if you might have a way to at least have somebody check up on him faster. Like maybe you know someone near by or something?" The young fire-starter asked anxiously. 

"Pops, if I may? I should be able fly there in about ten days. I kind of want to meet this trouble maker for myself, especially since he's Ace's little brother which also makes him my little brother in a way. Just imagine how bad the kid must be to make this prankster worry, yoi." Marco said in a joking tone while throwing an arm over Ace's shoulder. 

"Alright son, just be back as soon as possible." Whitebeard commanded. 

"You would really do that for me Marco? Thank you so much. When you get to Dawn Island don't go to Goa Kingdom instead go to Foosha Village on the other side of the island. The easiest way to find Luffy will probably be to go to Makino's Party Bar and tell Makino that I sent you. She's a real pretty lady with green hair and she's really nice to. Whatever you do make sure not to do anything to upset her." Exclaimed Ace with a wide smile on his face. 

"Oh, really and why's that?" asked Marco with interest. 

"Hahaha... well let's just say she knows certain people that could give you or the entire crew a hard time if they found out about it." Stated Ace mysteriously. 

"Oh, really? Who is it? Have I meet these certain people before?" Marco inquired with interest. 

"If I were to tell you that it would take all the fun out of you trying to find it out by yourself. How about this though, if you haven't figured out who it is by the time you get back I'll tell you then. You can't ask Makino who it is. I doubt she would tell you anyway." The fire-starter said with a large grin. 

"Gurarara... That sounds like a challenge to me, my boy." Whitebeard laughed. 

"Challenge accepted." Marco agreed in a frustrated tone while stomping away from the pair to get ready to leave. 

Whitebeard glanced over to Ace as the boy just stood there laughing while watching Marco head below deck. He could tell the boy was hiding something so he asked, "Why didn't you just tell him who you were talking about?" 

"It's more fun this way Pops. Now he'll probably spend the whole way there thinking about it. I just wish I could see his face when he realizes who I am speaking of." 

"Are you going to at least tell me who it was?" 

"No way, besides you'll hear about it once Marco get's back. Trust me he will not be able to keep it to himself." Ace said mischievously. 

_**THUMP**_

"And there he goes, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner with how stressed he's been the last couple of days. If he were part of any other crew his narcolepsy would probably be a death sentence." The captain stood up from his seat and bent down to pick up the young man now sleeping on the deck. On his way to Ace to his room Whitebeard saw Marco making his way to him. 

"Hey Pops, I went head and told the other commanders and my division that I'll be gone for around a month. Tell Ace that since it's his brother I'm going to check up on that he has to be the one to look over First Division while I'm gone, yoi." His First Division Commander said with a smirk on his face. 

"I'll be sure to tell him my son, be safe on your journey." Whitebeard said as he watched as his son slowly started to change his form into that of a flaming blue and golden phoenix that he was so well know for which had earned him the title of _'Marco the Phoenix'_ years ago.


	2. Unsettling News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy receives unsettling news. Marco arrives at Dawn Island and has an unusual welcome.

~~ _ **Luffy**_ ~~ 

Luffy was currently sitting in Makino's Party Bar eating a lunch that Makino had so graciously offered to him for free when he walked in for the first time in a while. Makino could tell that there was something wrong with Luffy when he first entered the bar. Not only because Luffy rarely left mountain, but the young man was clearly nervous about something barely even touching his food. All-in-all it made the young green haired woman fear that something terrible might have happened to the young man. 

"Luffy what's wrong?" Makino asked quietly. At the sound of his name the young black haired teenage boy lifted his head and looked at her with pleading eyes. He reached into his pocket with a shaking hand and pulled out a white envelope. 

"Makino, you've got to help me figure out what to do. I promised Ace I wouldn't set sail on my own until I was seventeen, b-but... Gramps he.." Luffy broke off in a horrified tone. 

"What did he do Luffy?" she dreadfully asked. 

Taking a deep breath the he continued in a shaky voice, "he said that since Ace already left home and has become a well know pirate that he wouldn't take the chance with me doing the same thing. So since I'm fifteen now he went ahead a did all the paperwork for me to become a M-marine in training. He said that he'll be here in less than a week to pick me up." 

**"I refuse to be a _'Marine'_ ! I'm gonna become the King of the Pirates not some damn _'Marine'_ !!"** Luffy shouted in a serious voice causing the other local patrons to turn and look at him amusedly while laughing. 

"That's right Luffy! Chase after your dream." One villager said. 

"I know you can do it Luffy, show the rest of the world that the East Blue isn't as weak as they think it is." Yelled another. 

"Shishishi... Thanks everyone it makes me feel a little better, now I just need to figure out what to do before Gramps get's here." Luffy said while laughing feeling loads better now that he had some encouragement. 

~~ _ **Marco**_ ~~ 

Marco had caught a good wind and actually managed to reach Dawn Island in seven days. Which was sooner then he had expected it would take. With his curiosity peaked he had ended up thinking of what Ace had said almost the entire trip there. He couldn't shake the feeling that whatever the fire-starter was knew was going to end up pissing him off in some way or another. With the island now view Marco currently in his Phoenix form circled the island while trying to figure out where Foosha Village was located. 

It turned out that finding the village wasn't all that hard. Besides a rather large city surrounded by very tall walls on all sides except for at the harbor there appeared to be only a few villages on the island. The one he was looking for had to be the village with all of windmills. Why else would they name it Foosha _'Windmill'_ Village? Deciding it would probably be best to not transform back into his human form in front of everyone the First Division Commander landed in the woods just outside the village. 

As he entered the village he noticed that he was drawing the attention of several of the villagers. Being part of Whitebeard's crew for so long he had long since became accustomed to being stared at whether it be in terror or relief (if it was an island under Whitebeards protection). These stare's were different though, almost as if they didn't know what to make of the man. Taking a chance he walked up to one of the people staring at him to ask for directions. 

"Can you possibly tell me where to find Makino's Party Bar, yoi?" Macro asked in a inquisitive voice. 

"Why should I tell you where to find Makino at you damned pirate! What business do you have here? What where you doing in those woods? Are you out of your mind, what if you had been killed?" the old man wearing a pair of glasses and a striped hat yelled at Marco while poking the pirate with his cane. 

"What makes you think I'm a pirate, yoi? If you most know I was sent to check up on someone and they told me to speak to a lady named Makino who owned the Party Bar. Is there a problem with me being in the woods it's not like I was doing anything?" Stated Marco in a bored tone. 

"You remind me of those other pirates that where here a few years back, plus that mark on your chest looks familiar. I guess as long as you promise not to start trouble I'll take you to Makino. As for the woods you better be careful they can be pretty dangerous if you don't know what to look out for. I'm Mayor Woop Slap by the way." The Mayor turned and started to walk down the street not even bother to look and see if the other man was following him. 

Marco followed after Woop Slap. _'Honestly who would name their kid that?'_ The blonde haired man thought to himself. After a few minutes of walking the Mayor stopped in front of Makino's Party Bar turned to Marco and opened his mouth as though he was about to say something when... 

**"I refuse to be a _'Marine'_ ! I'm gonna become the King of the Pirates not some damn _'Marine'_!!"** A young male voice shouted for all the world to hear. 

"Pirate King huh..." Marco mumble. Watching as the Mayor looked at him and began to pale. 

"Ah, please forgive him he's been saying that ever since he was a child." The Mayor pleaded. 

Marco just smirked and marched into the bar. He looked around for the speaker of the voice noticing that everyone in the bar had stopped talking and turn to stare at him. _'If I didn't know any better I would think I had **PIRATE** tattooed across my forehead or something. Not that it really matters, just kind of weird that they can just tell.'_

"Shishishi.... Hey mister you’re a pirate right? Why don't you come over here and get something to drink? Would you also mind telling us what business you have here?" A young black haired teenage boy that was sitting at the bar asked while laughing. 

"Brat, aren’t you a bit too young to be in a bar, yoi?" Marco asked with a smirk while taking a seat by the teen noticing on closer inspection that the boy also had a scar under his left eye. 

"Well no pirates ever cared about that before, but if you must know Makino here is a good friend of mine that used to look after me for a while when I was younger. So I used to spend almost everyday here, until Gramps came to visit and I told him that I was gonna become King of the Pirates. Then he took me to live in the mountains to avoid negative influences, not that it really helped. My names Luffy by the way. Monkey D. Luffy and I'm gonna become the King of the Pirates someday." Luffy said while picking up a straw-hat and placing it on his head with a wide smile spread across his face. 

"My names Marco and yes I'm a pirate. I'm curious though how is it that everyone seems able to know that? I just got here and I'm by myself as well, yoi. As for why I'm here it's not to cause any trouble or anything. One of my crew mates asked me to come and check on his precious little brother. He seems to have a bit of a brother complex and has been a worried mess for the past few weeks, yoi." The blonde said while eyeing the straw-hat that seemed to be familiar for some reason. 

"Shishishi... It's probably because you feel the same as Shanks and his crew. Right everyone?" Luffy said while taking a look around the room. Only to find that everyone else except for Makino must have cleared out after Pineapple Head had entered. _'Pineapple Head that's what I'll call him from now on since his head reminds of pineapples.'_

"Luffy, while I do agree with you. I don't think your supposed to compare pirates to each other like that." Makino said while watching as the pirate just looked at Luffy like he couldn't figure out whether he should be happy or insulted to be compared to Shanks. 

_'Why that damn brat Ace knew that damned Red-Haired Shanks had been here before and kept it from me just to piss me off when I get back to the Moby Dick I'm gonna...'_ Marco internally screamed.


	3. Talks of Kidnappings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will you kidnap this boy?

_**~~ Previously ~~**_

_"How is it that everyone seems to be able to tell I'm a pirate at first glance, yoi?" Marco asked while eyeing the familiar looking straw-hat that the boy had._

_"Shishishi... It's probably because you give off the same feeling as Shanks and his crew." Laughed the young Straw-Hat boy._

_'Why that damn brat Ace knew that damned Red-Haired Shanks had been here before and kept it from me just to piss me off when I get back to the Moby Dick I'm gonna...' Marco internally screamed._

_**~~ Present ~~**_

"Hey, wait. Luffy this man's a pirate!" Makino exclaimed while pointing at Macro. 

"Well, yeah Makino that's pretty obvious." Luffy stated picking his nose with his pinky finger while trying to figure out what she was getting at. 

"Luffy trust me ok. I think I might have a way to help you without you actually breaking your promise." Said Makino excitedly. 

"If you say so. I did ask you for help after all." Luffy said with a wide smile. 

Marco was jerked out of his thought's of revenge when he heard the green haired woman politely asked. "Excuse me, sir. You said your name was Marco and that you were a pirate right?" 

"Yes, what of it?" Marco inquired with a sense of unease with the way the woman was smiling at him. 

"GREAT!! I have a huge favor to ask of you then." The woman stated mischievously. 

"You realize that I really am a pirate right, yoi?" Marco asked as his unease increased. _'Damn this is why I can't stand women. I'm gonna have to make sure to punish Ace thoroughly for this, yoi. First I need to find his brother and to do that I have to be on this woman's good side.'_

"This may sound really weird but I need you to kidnap this boy." She said while pointing to Luffy. 

"Wha... What?" Marco questioned nervously, though you wouldn't be able to tell just by looking as his poker face gave away nothing of his inner turmoil. 

"Shishishi... That's awesome. If he kidnaps me then I technically want be breaking my promise to Ace. Makino you’re the best!" Laughs Luffy happily with a giant smile on his face. 

"Your not supposed to be happy about being kidnapped, yoi." Marco stated dryly. _'Are all these people crazy?'_

"Please say you'll do it Pineapple Head." Asked Luffy with a pout on his face. 

"Oi, my name is Marco, yoi. Not, Pineapple Head. Besides why should I kidnap you, when you could easily leave on your on?" Questioned Marco. 

"You don't understand. I promised Ace I wouldn't leave the island until I was seventeen, but I got a letter from Gramps the other day. He said that since I'm fifteen now it's time to start my _'Marine'_ training. He even went so far as to process all the necessary paperwork for be to become an official Marine as soon as I turn sixteen as long as I've completed at least six months of training with Gramps first." Luffy spat in disgust like joining the Marine's were a curse. Which to the young man it was, to be marine would take away one of the things most important to him - his freedom. 

"Wait, you said your name is Luffy, yoi. Your wearing a straw-hat, have grandfather issues, seem to hate the Marine's, are overjoyed at the idea of being kidnapped, and you know someone named Ace." Marco said with a sigh while feeling a headache coming on. 

"Yeah, what of it Pineapple Head?" 

"Since you also know this woman here, I take it that your the little brother of Portgas D. Ace then, yoi?" Marco asked in resignation. 

"Wow, that's amazing how did you know that? Can you read minds or something?" Exclaimed Luffy with stars in his eye's, while leaning in closer to Marco to get a better look at the man. 

"Hahaha... No Ace is the crew member with a brother complex I was telling you about earlier. He seemed to think that you had gotten yourself into some sort of trouble and considering that you just said that your own grandfather has basically just forcefully inducted you into the Marine's I would take it as he was right, yoi." Marco let out a low chuckle. 

"Awesome! My brother can tell I'm in trouble when he's not even here. That's so cool." Luffy yelled loudly. 

"That reminds me you keep saying Ace has a brother complex, is he sick or something?" asked the young boy drawing a laugh from Makino. 

"What's so funny?" 

"Yes, it's a very serious sickness. There's no reason for you to worry though. It's normally not life threatening, however there might have been a few people who have died because of their brother complexes." The blonde man said while trying to keep a straight face, it was becoming increasingly hard to not burst out laughing. _'This kid is so clueless, no wonder Ace was so worried about the him.'_

"Well as long as it's not life threatening then Ace should be fine, because Ace is really strong. Now you also said Ace sent you to check on me right? Then that means you have to help me. So I command you to kidnap me and take me to my big brother. The sooner the better, because Gramps is going to be here any day now." Commanded Luffy enthusiastically while rocking back and forth on the stool he was currently sitting on. 

"Excuse me, just who do you think you are? Why should I listen to anything you tell me do? Last time I checked you weren't my captain." Marco replied slightly irritated that the boy in the straw-hat thought that he could tell him what to do and just except him to follow alone. 

"Shishishi... Well that's obviously because Ace would be upset with you if you didn't help me and it's an order from the future Pirate King." Stated Luffy playfully. 

"Sir, if I was you I wouldn't even bother arguing with him about this. Everyone normally gives into his demands eventually. There's only been two people that I know of that were able to refuse him before and they both ended up running away from him before they gave into him *ahem* I mean they had to leave the island because they had certain matters to take care of." Makino said sincerely. 

Marco leaned forward onto the onto the bar placing his head into his hands while letting out a loud sign, "Well whatever. I originally came here to help you anyway. So there's no real reason to fight about it. Since your obviously not suited to being a Marine as your planning on becoming a pirate in the future I guess I have no other choice than to take you with me. Ace would have a stroke if he found out you were forced to become a Marine." 

"Now wait just a minute Pineapple Head! I'm not going to be just some ordinary pirate, **I'm going to become the King of the Pirates**!" Yelled Luffy while standing up throwing both of his hands into the air with a large smile on his face. 

_'This is going to be a long journey. When I get back to the ship I'm going to find Ace, and make sure he knows just how much trouble he's put me through.'_


	4. We're Going to Need A Boat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since Marco is no longer traveling alone, they will need to travel to Goa Kingdom in order to get a boat.

"Marco I know you just arrived here and that you probably want to rest, but it would be for the best if you left as soon as possible. Luffy's grandfather will be here any day and he's the type of person that pirate's normally try to avoid. Even Shanks left the island when he heard that the old man was on his way. Stating _"It's not that I'm afraid of that old geezer, he's just more trouble than it's worth."_ " Makino said in a serious tone. 

"The man sounds like one crazy old man for even Shanks to run away form him." Smirked Marco. 

"Shanks didn't run away! Ace and Sabo said it was a... what's the word I'm looking for? That's right! They said it was a _strategic withdraw_." Luffy said proudly, glad that he remembered what his big brothers taught him years ago. 

_'Strategic withdraw my ass. Who is this Sabo person? I don't think I've ever heard Ace mention him before.'_ Marco thought to himself. 

"I see, well I want to get back to my crew as soon as possible so whenever your ready brat just let me know. Oh, but since I'm taking you with me it would probably be for the best if we get a boat. It's harder for me to move around when I have someone else with me."

"Normally the villager's would either let you have one of our small fishing boats or just make you one, however you need to put as much distance as possible between you and Luffy's grandfather. Unfortunately since your on a tight schedule you'll need to go to _Goa Kingdom_ to get a boat that would be big enough to not only carry both of you, but also your food supplies. Don't let Luffy's appearance deceive you that boy can out eat most grown men." Announced Makino sounding displeased at the new destination.

"I take it Goa Kingdom is that large city surrounded by walls on all sides?"

"That's right Pineapple Head! I'm ready to go at anytime. So if your ready to go it's best that we go ahead and leave for Goa Kingdom. It's dangerous enough to try and enter the city during the daytime, not to mention they lock the doors right before night fall. I'd rather get everything ready today if possible. Shishishi... if your up for it we can even leave tonight _under the cover of darkness_ then it would be like a real adventure/kidnapping. Makino don't forget to tell Gramps I've been kidnapped by a pirate or he'll probably end up destroying the whole island looking for me." Laughed the boy as he stood up and gave Makino a good by hug with a large grin on his face.

"Sure thing Luffy. Marco should I tell the old man who took him? Even if I don't I'm almost certain he'll still give chase." 

"Shishishi... Go ahead and tell Gramps that Pineapple Head kidnapped me. It'll definitely get whatever bounty he has raised, unless you don't have one yet then this will be sure to get you one."

"Hey now don't go answering people for me, but yeah I quess you can go ahead and tell Ace and Luffy's Gramps that _'Marco the Pheonix'_ **NOT PINEAPPLE HEAD** kidanapped him, yoi. Though as high as my bounty is I don't something as trivial as kidnapping would raise my bounty." Marco said in an irritated tone. He stood up to follow the young teenager.

"Hahaha... That's what you think. Whatever you do head straight to your crew as fast as you can. I will pray for your survival." Makino laughed while pushing the both of them towards the door.

"Makino you shouldn't say things like that he might change his mind about kidnapping me." Stated Luffy seriously.

"I can't do that, yoi. Even pirates have certain codes they must honor, especially in our crew. Being there when a nakama is in need is one, and Ace asked me to help you if you were in trouble." _'I can't tell if their serious or not. Still I wonder just who his grandfather is for all the dramatics. I have a feeling it's another one of Ace's pranks. I'm half tempted to ask the brat but I can just picture the brat saying something like, "Duh, Gramps is Gramps." while picking his nose again.'_

"Follow me Pineapple Head, we've got to go through the mountain to get there. Be sure to stay close to me. The mountain can be pretty dangerous if your not familiar with it. Can't have the person who's going to kidnap me die after all." Said Luffy making his way out of the village towards the forest that covered the mountain. All the while waving at all the villagers that they happened to pass as they existed the Foosha Village.

"Do you honestly think that some animal could get the best of me, yoi?" Huffed Marco wondering when they had started running.

"Since your not from around here yeah probably, that is unless your immortal or something." The Straw-Hat boy said while quickly getting ahead of the older man as they slowed slightly to walk up a rocky path. 

"Close enough. There's no reason to worry about me. I'm stronger than I look, yoi." _'I'm a Phoenix after all I doubt anything in these forest could kill me. Unless I...'_

"Watch Out!" Yelled Luffy while stretching out is arm to grab hold of Marco and pull him back from the edge of a deep ravine.

"Even if you survived a fall from that height, I wouldn't have been able to jump in and save you. I can't swim after all. Honestly I just got through warning you to, and Ace says I never pay attention." Reprimanded Luffy his straw-hat covering his eyes and the ever present smile now gone.

"That was close, thanks for saving me. I can't swim either." _'I doubt I would've had time to transform before I hit the water. I guess that's what I get for not paying attention. Good thing the brat is so fast I thought he was further away from me then that.'_ Marco thought looking down at the hand that still had a surprisingly firm grasp on his upper arm. The older man blinked as he stared to the teenager. At first glance it had looked like there was at least ten feet between them, but when he looked again the boy was directly in front of him. Marco shook his head to clear his mind. _'Maybe I'm just tired from my journey here? I was in my Phoenix form longer than I normally am.'_

"Shishishi... I see then it really is a good thing I was able to catch you then. Anyway we need to keep moving these woods are dangerous enough during the day, you don't want to be wondering around at night. I would hate to have to rescue you if you were eaten whole by one of the wild animals in the forest. I know I always hate having to take a _bath_ and wash my clothes just to get the stench off. Since me and Ace have lived in this forest for so long normally only the largest of the animals in here would dare approach me. Who knows though since your new to the forest the animals still might try to attack you even if you are with me." The boy laughed with he's trademark smile back on his face.

 _'Eaten whole? I'm a grown man does he actually think there's an animal large enough in these woods to eat me whole? You've got to be joking. This is the East Blue for crying out loud not the Grand Line.'_ With that that thought in mind Marco kept following the young teenager as he walked down a path that only the boy seemed to be able to see. All the sudden the teenager came to a stop, held his hand up into the air mentioning for Marco to do the same, and then got into a crouching position. The boy in the straw-hat was looking around him as if searching for something. When he looked to the left Marco followed to line of sight and saw one of the largest tigers the First Mate had ever seen in his life. _'Are you kidding me that thing looks as big as Pops!'_

"Aw, it's to bad were in a hurry that could make for a good afternoon snack." Whined Luffy

"Yeah, I doubt the tiger would even consider you a good appetizer." Stated Marco dryly.

"What are you talking about? I meant a snack for me not him." Asked Luffy tilting his head to the side with a puzzled look on his face.

"Sure kid like you could eat that entire thing by yourself, not even Ace could eat that much by himself."

"I might have shared a _little_ with you as thanks for kidnapping me." Luffy said innocently. 

_'This idiot's actually serious isn't he?'_ Marco thought with a sigh. "Whatever you say kid let's just keep going."

"Ok, we're almost there. Your faster than I gave you credit for Pineapple Head. Just stay there for a minute." The boy then jumped out of his hiding spot and punched the giant tiger in the face. The tiger was sent flying into the nearest tree the impact causing the tiger to pass out. 

"Shishishi... That was easy I can't wait to show Ace how strong I've gotten since he's left." The straw-hat boy laughed gleefully.

 _'The kids stronger than I gave him credit for, then again he is Ace's little brother so I guess it's to be excepted that he's strong.'_

"Oi, Pineapple Head look up head. That's what's know as _Grey Terminal_ once we pass though there we'll be at the gate to _**Goa Kingdom**_." Spoke Luffy with a solemn look on he's face. 

Marco could hear the sadness in Luffy's voice as he spoke of the place know as Grey Terminal and the angry when he talked of Goa Kingdom. It troubled the man for some unknown reason. _'What could have happen for the brat to feel this way?'_


	5. Onward Through Grey Terminal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco and Luffy must pass through Gray Terminal to reach the Gates of Goa Kingdom.

_**~~ Previously ~~**_

_"Oi, Pineapple Head look up head. That's what's know as 'Grey Terminal' once we pass though there we'll be at the gate to **Goa Kingdom**." Spoke Luffy with a solemn look on he's face._

_Marco could hear the sadness in Luffy's voice as he spoke of the place know as Grey Terminal and the anger when he talked of Goa Kingdom. It troubled the man for some unknown reason. 'What could have happened for the brat to feel this way?'_

_**~~ Grey Terminal ~~** _

"What is this place?" Marco asked in puzzlement. Staring at the endless piles of what looked to be trash in front him.

"It's a dumping ground for what _**Goa Kingdom**_ calls trash. When we were younger all three of us used to play here and find the most amazing treasures. After the fire though Ace said it would be best to stay away from Goa Kingdom saying, _'Even the cleanest place can be filthy.'_ I'm not quite sure what he meant but the place always gave me a bad feeling like something just wasn't right about the place." Luffy said bitterly bring his hand up to his head to sit on top of his treasured straw-hat.

"So this place is a trash heap then, but it looks like there are people living here." Stated Marco noticing quit a few people walking around and even some small shack looking places scattered around. 

"Well yeah as I said most of the things those idiot noble's throw out are still usable. It's like they've never heard of getting things fixed or repaired. Their totally wasteful. Hell you wouldn't believe how much gold we've found here. Seriously who throws away GOLD of all things." Said Luffy in exasperation. 

_'This is the first time I've came back since Ace has left. I didn't think it would be this hard without Ace. Sabo... I miss you so much._ The boy was shaking slightly and looked like he was fighting to hold back tears while clutching the straw-hat on his head.

"Luffy are you ok?" The older man asked in concern.

Marco's voice seemed to snap Luffy out of his thoughts. "Huh, oh yeah I'm fine sorry about that. I just haven't been here since Ace left. I've spent almost all my time in the mountains training to get stronger." 

"I see, well let's get going then." Marco said as he started walking into the clutter.

"Ok, but don't pick anything up unless you want to chance being attacked. Everyone here is very protective of what they consider to be theirs." Replied Luffy with his smile finally back on his face.

"Thanks for the warning brat." Smirked the older man walking on head to get a better look at the place if it weren't for the outrageously large wall sounding Goa Kingdom he would've had no idea where to go.

Luffy let the Marco walk in front for a little while since the man was walking towards the walls. The straw-hat boy had figured it would be ok until they reached the kingdom. _'I'll just stick back here and take in the scenery for now. I wander if I'll come across something cool?_ Thought the young teenager looking around in interest. Then out of the corner of his eye he watched as a ragged middle aged man with a small knife tried to sneak up on what appeared to be an unsuspecting Marco.

Stretching out his arm and placing his hand on the shoulder of the man holding the knife Luffy squeezed down on his shoulder and said with a sweet tone his smile still in place which seemed to give his face a eerie look, "Hey mister. What do you think your trying to do while my friend has his back to you?"

"Stay out of this kid!" The guy with the knife yells now turning to look at Luffy. The man pales and drops his knife. Then he begins to scream as he runs away, "AAARRRGGGHHH!!! It's one of the Monster Children!!"

"Shishishi... Something's never change." Laughed the straw-hat boy, watching as the frighten man ran away.

"Oi, I could have handled that by myself you know. It's not like I would've dropped my guard again after what happened earlier in the forest." Marco said turning towards Luffy while wandering what that man had been so afraid of.

"Yeah I know. I just can't stand cowards who would attack and unarmed person from behind." Luffy said lightly.

"Hey what did that guy mean when he said you were one of the Monster Children, yoi?" Marco inquired not really knowing what to make of the other man's reaction to seeing Luffy. 

"Shishishi... Monster Children, Demon Children, Terrors of Goa, and even the Terrible Trio take your pick. They would almost always give us new nicknames every time we came to here. Mainly because we would pick fights with just about anyone we deemed unlucky enough to be our targets and beat the crap them. Oh yeah it might also having something to do with all our dine and dashes to." Stated the black haired boy proudly with a large smile on his face.

"... I see. So you've really been a pirate at heart for a while, yoi." Remarked Marco dryly turning around to once more head for the walls of the kingdom. _'Wow, the brat's definitely Ace's little brother. I have a feeling that he's even more of a trouble maker than Ace.'_ Thought Marco with increasing dread.

"You bet I've wanted to be a pirate for as long as I could remember. It wasn't until I met Shanks that I decided that I was going to become the man with the most freedom in all the seas, the King of the Pirates. I guess it was mainly because I had never thought of the pirate's having the own king. Gramps had never mentioned there being a king before, though he did always tell me stories about the battles between him and his old rival. As soon as Shanks told me about the Pirate King though I knew that was what I was meant to be." Said Luffy happily.

Marco turned his head to stare at the boy a small smirk on his face and mumbled, "Cheeky brat aren't you, yoi?"

"Did you say something?" Asked Luffy with a large grin on his face that showed he had heard exactly what the older man had said while running up to walk beside Marco. 

"Oh, look there's the gate's." The straw-hat boy pointed to the large iron doors that had a guard on each side.

"Well let's go then wouldn't want anyone else to try and attack us." Smirked the older man about to walk towards the gates.

"Wait, wait just a minute." Whispered Luffy while grabbing Marco by the arm to pull the pirate closer to him while hiding behind the of the trash mounds.

"What is it, yoi?"

"Well you see me and Ace are pretty well-known around here. So as a precaution all the guards know what we look like. If I was just coming town to eat lunch or something I would just beat the guards up and be on my way, but that's not the case this time. If the guards are after us we won't have time to _steal_... I mean buy a ship _**and**_ stock it with enough food before we make our great escape. So we'll have to take the short cut." Explained Luffy with a mischievous smile on his face and stars in his eye's.

 _'OH HELL I have a bad feeling about this!'_ Marco swallowed half tempted to take a step away from the black haired teen and asked in apprehension, "What type of short cut?"

"Shishishi... I've been working on it for years and I think I've finally gotten it right. Come here." Laughed Luffy as he grabbed Marco.


	6. Soaring through the Sky?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy proves you don't need wings to fly, though they still might be nice to have, especially when landing.

_**~~ Previously ~~** _  
_"Well you see me and Ace are pretty well-known around here. So as a precaution all the guards know what we look like. If I was just coming town to eat lunch or something I would just beat the guards up and be on my way, but that's not the case this time. If the guards are after us we won't have time to **steal**... I mean buy a ship **and** stock it with enough food before we make our great escape. So we'll have to take the short cut." Explained Luffy with a mischievous smile on his face and stars in his eye's._

_**'OH HELL I have a bad feeling about this!'** Marco swallowed half tempted to take a step away from the black haired teen and asked in apprehension, "What type of short cut?"_

_"Shishishi... I've been working on it for years and I think I've finally gotten it right. Come here." Laughed Luffy as he grabbed Marco._

_**~~ Grey Terminal/Gates of Goa Kingdom ~~** _

Marco could only watch in curiosity as Luffy grabbed him and pulled him close. He noticed that the boy seemed to be looking around for something. 'Is there a whole in the wall somewhere or something?'

"Ah ha... that should do the trick just fine." The straw-hat boy said as he dragged Marco closer to some of the larger trash mounds.

"Oi what are you about to do, yoi?" Marco asked not understanding what the boy was about to do.

"It'll be fun I promise." Laughed Luffy stretching out one arm to grab on to something that looked like a metal pipe that was sticking out of the top of one of the mounds and then made sure to wrap his other arm around Marco a few times just to be safe. He then stepped back a little and gave a little pull, "Good now be sure to hold on tight, ok?"

Then Luffy ran up a smaller mound in the opposite direction of the wall while still holding onto the pole making sure there was a good distance in between them and what he was holding onto. Without warning Luffy jumped into the air. The two of the where now being pulled up into air in the direction of the large wall when Luffy let go of the pipe he had been holding. Suddenly the two of them where shot high into the air. Flying over the large walls with relative ease. The kingdom was passing by in a blur...

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!!! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW, BEFORE WE HIT SOMETHING OR FALL!!" Screamed Marco in horror at all the large building up ahead. _'A fall from this height will surely kill the boy. Even if he does have a Devil Fruit.'_

"NO WAY! THIS IS AMAZING!!" The young teenager laughed with a wide smile.

**CRACK**

**THUD**

**ROLL**

**THUMP**

"Oh, man that was sooo fun! Do you wanna do it again later?" Laughed Luffy with a flushed with excitement.

 _'Aw man that freakin hurt. If I didn't have my regenerative ability that would have killed me. How tall is that wall anyway, then we just had to land on those rocks, and to top it off we ended up rolling down them because the brat couldn't stay still for five seconds.'_ Thought Marco standing up and snapping his neck back in place from it's unnatural angle thanks to their crash landing. _'Now that I think about it Ace did mention something about his little brother being made out of rubber.'_

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING A NORMAL PERSON WOULD HAVE DIED FROM THAT, YOI!" Screamed Marco.

"But your not normal are you? After all your here but you didn't have a boat and you obviously can't swim so that means you got here some other way." Said Luffy with a slight frown on his face.

"For all you know I could have been on a Passenger Ship, yoi." _'Not that I ever would. That would be degrading for me as not only a pirate (First Division Commander of Whitebeard at that), but also as Phoenix.'_

"Yeah right like a pirate of any decent caliber would hitch a ride on someone else ship unless they had no other choice. Especially not a 'Passenger Ship', next your going to tell you also protected them from other pirates" Snorted Luffy while standing up and dusting off his clothes.

"Hey now, I would've protected them if they where under Pops protection." Huffed Marco with indignation.

"Oh whatever listen we need to go now I over shot us a bit in my excitement and we crashed in to the protective wall of High Tower. Since that's where those stuffy Nobles live the guards will be here soon and we probably need to avoid them..." said the black haired teen who on reflex was bringing his hand to his head to make sure his straw-hat was still in place. Then with a sparkle in his eyes and playful smile on his face he continued, "that is unless you feel up to having some fun and want to take them out."

"Hahaha... I wish I could take that as a joke, yoi but with you I think that's highly doubtful. Come on brat we need to get that boat and some supplies as soon as possible. That is unless you want to have to set sail without food." Smirked Marco as he grabbed to boys arm and started walking towards what should be the direction of the harbor. Looking around Marco noticed that the two of them had attracted a lot of attention. "Hey brat it looks like you might get that fight you were wishing for after all." The blonde said mentioning to the people who where beginning to look slightly hostile. _'Not that I can't take on these low life's by myself and getting in a little exercise never never hurt anyone... or at least me. It will most definitely hurt them.'_

Luffy looked around at the thugs that were beginning to to make their way out of Edge Town the district nearest to the wall that separated Goa Kingdom and the Grey Terminal. "Shishishi... Sorry guys as much as I'd like to stay and have some fun with everyone I'm afraid we're in a hurry today and I'm pretty sure the guards are on there way here already." Laughed Luffy with his trademark smile plastered on his face. He stretched out his left leg and did a wide sweep at all the near by enemies knocking them on to the ground. He then began to run towards the harbor with out a care in the world.

Marco stood still for a split second to take in the shocked looks on the other people faces and then began to chase after Luffy not wanted to lose site of the unpredictable teen. _'I'm starting to wonder why Ace was so worried the brat may get into trouble a lot but he appears to be pretty strong for a kid his age. Not only that but he looks like he's having the time of his life.'_

With Luffy _leading the way_ they reached to harbor in no time. Besides a few small fishing boats at the harbor there appeared to be only one other ship that that looked like it was probably a Merchant Ship. Marco watched as Luffy looked at the large ship in awe, with sparkling eye the practically screamed 'Let's get this one!'

Before Luffy could voice his thoughts out loud Marco walked up to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder. The older man laughed and said in amusement. "No, Luffy we can't get that one, yoi. It's to big for just two people we wouldn't be able to sail it with just the two of us."

"Oh that's to bad then. Just imagine all the food we would've been able to have on the ship." Luffy said in a slightly dejected tone.

 _'I should have know it would be about food after he said he wanted to eat that tiger earlier.'_ Thought Marco shaking his head.

"Oi Pineapple Head come look at this one. We're gotta take this one, it's small but not as small as those other one's." Luffy said excitedly pointing at a small boat that had a small single cabin. The cabin was built around the mast and had two small port hole on each side.

"Yeah that one does seem to be the only one that can fit both of us those other ones are just to small." Frowning Marco took another look around to make sure there where no other available boats that could fit the both. _'This could be a problem. I would hate to have to steal a ship that appears to be truly loved by the people that own it.'_ The boat looked well cared for, which means the owners might have some special attachment to it. _'Man now I miss the Moby Dick. The ships been apart of the crew since day one.'_

"Excuse me sorry to interrupt but is there something you young whippersnappers want with my boat?" Ask a very old white haired man that was wobbling towards them with a tight grip on his cane.

"Wow old man this is your ship?! It looks so cool." Luffy stated with his ever present smile.

"Really you think so? I'm glad you like it I've actually been trying to sell it. I'm not as young as I used to be and my fool of a son gets sea sick at the drop of the hat so he can't really sail it." The old man cackled while staring looking at Luffy with a small smile.

"How much do you want for it, sir?" Marco inquired ready to pay any price that was even remotely reason able.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I don't know how well my description of the boat was the one I had in mind was the boat that Rayleigh had when he first met Gol D. Roger for the first time. Should be in episode 523 of One Piece.


	7. Set Sail!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've finally found a boat and now it's time to go... after they buy so food first of course.

_'Man that old man sold his boat to us a lot cheaper than I thought he would, yoi.'_

"That old man sure was nice giving us his own boat like that, especially considering how much he loves and cares for it." Said Luffy happily skipping away from the harbor towards the market.

"Luffy the man didn't give us anything we bought it from him." Marco reminded the straw-hat wearing teen.

"Whatever you say Pineapple Head. I may not know or care for that matter how much it costs to buy a boat, but I do know that if the old man hadn't liked us he wouldn't have gave it to us."

 _'The brat has a point I guess. Where's he going off to now?'_ Thought the older man while following after Luffy. 

"Hurry up slow poke, I'm hungry!" Whined Luffy as he turned to give Marco his best pout. 

Marco took one look at Luffy's face and came to a sudden halt. _'I see this a new form of torture isn't. Even with being this fair away from Ace I just can't seem to get away. These two are some much alike it isn't funny, which means from now on I need to keep a closer eye on the brat. If he's as similar to Ace as I'm starting to think he is I'll probably need to sleep with one eye open.'_

"Alright already! I'm coming just stop nagging me, your as bad as Ace, yoi." Sighed Marco in acceptance. 

"Come on let's go find some MEAT!" Cheered the young teenager eagerly as he grabbed Marco's arm to pull him along towards towards a quit looking restaurant that had it's own buffet.

"Awesome Pineapple Head it has an all you can eat buffet! Let's hurry and eat before it's all gone." Exclaimed Luffy in excitement.

"Yeah, yeah the only one they really have to worry about eating all the food is you, yoi." Mumbled Marco grabbing a plate of his own while he watched as Luffy began to pile his plate full of stake and ribs and little else. 

"Oi, brat at least eat SOME veggies." scolded the blond man in irritation as he noticed that the teen intended to take all the meat before he would be able to get any for himself.

"Do I HAVE to?" Whined Luffy dejectedly.

"Yes Luffy. As my hostage you have to do what I say. Unless of course you would like to stay here and what for your grandfather to return." Smirked Marco knowing he had one the battle this time.

"Alright fi..." began Luffy only to be interrupted by some sort of commotion for out side.

"He's back everyone! He's finally back! Look you can see the Marine ship." Yelled a young boy in an excited voice.

"Now now son we don't know for sure it's him or not yet. There are a lot more people in the Marine's than you can even been to imagine." Scolded the child's mother.

"Look at the ship's figure head though that can only been the ship of Dawn Islands own Marine Hero. They should be here in less than thirty minutes." Exclaimed one of the many fisherman that had came running from the direction of the harbor.

"Everyone hurry and finish your shopping especially at the Bakery. Last time he came to visit we were out of dough for an entire week." Yelled one of Bakery worker's that was selling beard at one of the many stalls in the market place with a look of horror on her young face.

Upon hearing this Luffy's face turned pale and he began to panic, "No... This is bad. He's early, we have to go NOW!" 

"Wait what about the supplies, yoi?" Marco asked in concern.

"We'll grab some food on our way to the boat. We'll have to stop and pick up more supplies at the next island. It's to dangerous to stay here now. Hopefully he'll stop at Foosha Village before he stops here and we'll be able to slip past with out him noticing us first." Said the straw-hat teen while anxiously hiding behind the older man like he was scared his grandfather was going to pop up out of nowhere.

"If you want I can always just beat him up for you." Offered Marco sincerely when he saw how nervous the teen was.

"NO! Are you crazy! Do you have a death wish or something? If he kills you I'll be forced to become a Marine, no way I'm chancing that let's GO!" Screamed Luffy in terror while forcefully dragging Marco towards the harbor.

"Aren't you underestimating me a bit? I am the first mate of the Whitebeard Pirates after all, yoi." Stated Marco dryly irradiated that the black haired boy thought that some East Blue Marine could beat him.

"Really the First Mate of the Whitebeard Pirates! That's so cool. I'm pretty sure I heard Shanks mention that they where rival's of the Pirate King. I still don't think you should fight Gramps though. Shanks doesn't even want to face him and he's the strongest pirate I know. How many men do you know that would stare down a Sea King with no weapons and still win?"

"Uh... Fine whatever let's just go then." Huffed Marco. _'There's no dealing with brat, why's he so scared of some old Marine? Then again I can't imagine Shanks not putting up a fight neither, maybe Shanks thought the old man would be to much like Luffy or something, yoi. Dealing with one hyperactive person is hard enough as it is.'_

"Come on Pineapple Head hurry up and get in the boat so we can hide." Whined Luffy as he hopped into the boat.

Marco stared at the teenage who had his arms filled with food, and then did a double take. _'When did we get back to the boat? Where did all that food come from?'_ "Oi, brat where did you get all that food from? You didn't have it a minute ago. I didn't even see you pick it up much less pay for it, yoi."

"Shishishi... Don't worry about it. At least we have some food for our trip now right?" Laughed Luffy as he walked into the small cabin of the boat.

 _'He totally just stole all that didn't he? He really is a pirate at heart, or maybe this is just because of Ace's influence.'_ Sighed the older man in resignation as he followed the boy into the cabin.


	8. The Sea Connects Us All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Whitebeard Pirate's are on the move. Luffy and Marco makes their great escape. Garp arrives at Dawn Island and learns some shocking news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize I put Sabaody Archipelago, but that was mainly in reference to where they were. No one actually went there. 
> 
> I noticed when writing this chapter that Garp seems to have a lot of different names to go by.

_**~~ Moby Dick/Sabaody Archipelago ~~** _

They had just broken the water's surface a few miles from Sabaody Archipelago when Ace turned from his spot next to the railing to look at Whitebeard who was once again in his grand seat.

"Thanks for agreeing to this Pop's." Sighed Ace in relief.

"Don't mention it my son. We're pirates and we're free to go where ever we like when ever we like. I have never had any intention of sticking to one part of the ocean just because that's what the Marine's want. If they want to try and stop us from going somewhere, then more power to them. They can try all they want to but they better make sure they bring their entire army with them with they do. Otherwise it wouldn't be any fun would it my son." Smirked Whitebeard with an amused look on his face.

"Oi, oi Pop's... maybe not all of the Marine's. That would include Gramps, how about just half of them or something?" 

"Ace my boy what's wrong? Why are you sweating? How are you sweating your made out of fire? Surely your not still afraid of your grandfather after all these years?" Asked the older man in concern.

"What? Oh. um.. well... Gramps is REALLY REALLY strong and I've never even seen him fight seriously before so yeah..." Ace trailed off in uncertainty. 

"Anyway Pop's I'm glad that you decided to let us follow after Marco. Even though he will probably be reaching Dawn Island soon I still can't shake the feeling that something's wrong." 

"Look here come the News Coo! Let's see if there's any new Bounty Poster's" Called a man that had his red hair done up into a Pompadour.

"Yeah right Thatch you just want to see if they've raised your bounty. Isn't that right?" Teased Izou with a smile.

"And so what if I did want to check that to..." Thatch said before he had began to read the front page of the newspaper. He began to pale slightly and stopped speaking . His sudden quietness caught the other's attention.

"What's wrong Thatch. You look like you've seen a ghost or something." Joked Ace trying to lighten the mood.

"Oi which sea was Marco going to again?" Inquired Thatch with a frown itched on his normally happy face.

"The East Blue why?" Ace stated the felling of dread returning full force as Thatch continued to stare at the newspaper like it was a death sentence.

"I see I was afraid that was the one.. Pop's I think we might have a problem." Thatch said as he clutched the newspaper in between his hands.

"What is it my son?" Asked the older man with a small frown on his face.

"This newspaper says that Vice-Admiral Garp has suddenly decided to go back to his is home island which is located some where in the East Blue. That man gets on Marco's nerves almost as much as Shanks does. Hell who are we kidding that man drives everyone crazy. I bet even his own family tries to stay as far away from him as possible." Laughed Thatch halfheartedly.

"Yeah we do. Gramps is really strong and doesn't seem to know how to hold back. Frankly I'm amazed that me and Luffy have survived this long.... WAIT! WHAT!! Gramps it on his way to the East Blue! We have to have to hurry and get as close to Dawn Island as soon as possible! Marco and even Luffy might be in danger!" Ace started to scream in panic as he broke out of his daze.

"Gramps? Who are you talking about and why would Macro and your little brother be in danger?" Questioned Izou with a confused look on his face.

Whitebeard had been wondering why Ace had always seemed to be so afraid of his own grandfather, but after his Second Division Commanders out burst of hearing that _'Garp the Fist'_ was on his way to the East Blue he had a feeling he knew just who the young freckled mans grandfather was. "Gurarara... Ace do you mean to say that your and and your little brother's grandfather is none other than _'Garp the Fist'_ ?

"WHAT!!" Exclaimed Izou and Thatch in total shock.

"That old man actually has a family? I wonder who was actually crazy enough to marry that old man?" Thatch stated in total disbelief.

"To tell you the truth I have no idea. Garp's the only family member we've ever met before. So you guess is as good as mine." 

"Wow Ace just WOW Garp as a grandfather that's insane." Izou said while shaking his head.

Suddenly Whitebeards commanding voice echoed through out the ship. "Alright everyone to your posts. We need to set sail on the double. It looks like one of own will probably need some assistance soon."

"AYE!!" Yelled the entire crew in reply.

_**~~ Goa Kingdom Harbor/Marco & Luffy ~~ ** _

"Oh look it looks like we're gonna get lucky tonight!" Exclaimed Luffy happily while turning to look at Marco with his ever present smile on his face.

Marco paled while looking at Luffy's smiling face. _'We're gonna get lucky tonight, yoi? I'm gonna get lucky with Ace's little brother... NO just no... There's no way that the brat meant it like that.'_

"Come on stop wasting time we need to start making our escape now as Gramps ship is making it's way to Foosha Village. Even if they see us leaving the island they'll be to far away to stop us, not that Gramps would think to check anyway seeing as he knows that I promised Ace I would stay until I was seventeen.

"Right, yeah. Lets get a move on then." The blonde stated while leaving the small cabin to untie the boat from the dock and push of a bit. He then turned around to unfurl the sail, only then getting a better look at the Marine ship that was nearing coast of Dawn Island _'You know that ship seems kind of familiar for some reason. Oh well whatever it's not like I would have ever met any Marine's that live in the East Blue anyway.'_

"Oi, Pineapple Head don't you think the water looks so pretty... It's really to bad I can't swim." Sighed Luffy dreamily while leaning over the side of the ship with one hand in water.

"Aye. It's beautiful, yoi." Agreed the older man taking a seat at the other side of the boat looking at the now setting sun on the horizon.

"Oi! Brat you better make sure not fall overboard, yoi!"

_**~~ Foosha Village/Garp & Makino ~~** _

Makino was inside the Party Bar serving the few customers their dinners when she heard the villagers outside yelling that the Hero Garp had finally returned.

_'Alright I can do this. I just need to make sure to lay it on thick. Garp will never doubt me, he's tends to be to trusting sometimes just like Luffy.'_ Thought Makino as she walked behind the counter to pick up an onion and began to chop it up vigorously. After her eye's began to water from all the juices the onion let she set down her knife and looks up to see that all of her patrons are staring at her.

"I'm ok everybody don't worry about me. Also as long as no one contradicts what I'm about to say to Garp then everythings on me tonight deal?" Makino says with a large smile even with tears now running down her face. 

"Deal! Anything for you our sweet Makino." All the partons agreed in unison.

"Good now everyone try to act depressed ok?" Makino tells them as she reaches up to rub her eye with her fingers *(don't try this at home.)*. _'Sweet mother of... this burns like crazy, but it had to be done. This is for Luffy's future happiness.'_

Just as she's turning around to wash her hands the entrance door is banged open causing many of the patrons to jump in from shock and laughter momentarily fills the room. "Bwahaha... Is my cute soon to be a Marine grandson here yet." Laughs Garp in a loud voice. His laughter immediately dies after he get's one look at poor Makino's red puffy eye's and tear stained face. 

"Oi Makino my dear. What's wrong? Did someone here try to hurt you?" Asked Garp in concern as it starts to walk towards the young woman. On his way over to her he notices that all of the patrons seems to be upset as well. "Just tell me who hurt you and I Monkey D. Garp will make sure they fill the full wrath of all the Marine's. Was it that damned Red-Haired kid again? I thought I already told that boy to stay away from you and Luffy."

Upon hearing Luffy's name Makino started sobbing uncontrollably and run into Garp's arm. She looked up at the older man with the most tearful expression she could muster and began to cry. "Oh, Garp it was horrible Luffy had just came into town this morning and was eating lunch while _patiently waiting_ for your arrival when this pirate showed up out of no where. When the man learned Luffy's full name he... he **KIDNAPPED HIM!!** He put a knife to Luffy's throat and said if he tried anything funny that he would kill everyone. It was horrible as he was leaving the the pirate whose head looked like a pineapple said _'Tell that crazy old geezer that if he ever wants to see his cute grandson to again he'll publicly announce in the newspaper that he will not eat any donuts or rice crackers for a whole month. That is unless he can catch me 'Marco the Phoenix' first, in which case I will personally buy him a whole month's supple of both.'_

" _'Marco the Phoenix'_ well at least I know he want kill the boy then. If anything the Whitebeard Pirates will just make sure the boy becomes a great pirate..." Garp trails of in contemplation before for a look of rage crosses his face. "There's no way in hell I'll let Luffy become a Whitebeard Pirate over my dead body!!" Garp roars stroming out the door.

An audible sigh was heard through out the bar as Garp left. The tension seemed to visable drain out of everyone present _'Finally it's over.'_ Thought Makino as she let her shoulders sag in relief.

**BANG**

The sound of the door suddenly banging open once again filled everyone with renewed tension. Garp poked his head back through the doorway. "Makino my dear there's no need to worry. I'll be sure to rescue Luffy from those damn Whitebeard Pirates no matter what and then I'll see to it that he become's a fine Marine. Bwahaha..." Laughed Garp as he exited for the final time.

"Alright men everyone back to the ship! We set sail immediately." Garp's command was load enough to be heard through out the entire village. Causing any villager's to stop what they where doing and look at him wondering why their hero was in such a hurry to leave again so soon.

"But sir we just got here, not to mention it's already night time." Complained one of the officers sullenly.

"I don't care what time it is. If I say we're leaving then we are, now everyone back to the ship NOW! Also has anyone seen Bogard? I need him to relay a message for me."


	9. Row, Row, Row, Your Boat...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco and Luffy are in need of supplies and spot an island in the distance. Basically just Luffy being well Luffy and taking Marco along for the ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so just a heads up I guess, rhyming and things like that aren't really my thing. I almost failed one semester of English in school because to this day I still don't get haiku's (the fact that I also have dyslexia didn't really help matters either). 
> 
> I didn't really like the original version of the nursery rhyme soo... I changed it. Personally I feel my version's pretty funny, but that just might be me.

_~~ Somewhere in the East Blue/ Marco & Luffy ~~ _

_'It's only been two days sense we've set sail but it feels like it's been forever. This ship's to small for the both of us. The brat's driving me insane. After I finally managed to fall asleep yesterday I was rudely woken up by the damn brat badgering me for more food after he ate everything edible on the ship.'_

"Oi, Pineapple Head! Look over there it's an island. You know what that means right? FOOD!!" Exclaimed Luffy excitedly pointing to the horizon where where if you squinted you could see a small land mass in the distance.

"Yeah brat just sit down. Even with your abilities we wouldn't be able to get there for at least another hour..." Marco sighed while rubbing his temple and then a brilliant idea struck him. "Unless you want to try and row us there, yoi?" 

"Sure thing, if it means I'll get to eat faster I would row this small boat all day if I had to." Luffy willing agreed with drool dripping down the side of his mouth.

_'Well at least this should help burn some of the brat excess energy... I hope.'_

"Row, row, row, your boat.. Gently to the meat.. Merrily, merrily, merrily, meat is every man's dream." Sang Luffy happily as he began to row the boat towards the island.

 _'What is he singing, yoi? I'm pretty sure that's not how the song is supposed to go. Please don't tell me he's gonna sing that the whole way there?'_ Groaned Marco in frustration.

"Oi, Pineapple Head why don't you join in and sing with me? The more the merrier right?" Asked Luffy while still steadily rowing the boat towards the island in the distance.

"No." Marco said in a stern tone. _'No way in Hell I'm singing that song.'_

"Oh, come on you know you want to." Pouted Luffy.

"No." _'Look away, don't give into his pouting face. It's bad even enough you surrender when Ace uses it on you.'_

"But don't all pirates like to sing?" Questioned Luffy in confusion.

"No..." Stated Marco hesitatingly. 

"Oh, I get it now you can't sing can you? That's ok there's always something that a person just can't do." Said the straw-hat boy cheerfully.

"Oi! I can to sing just fine. I simply don't feel like singing right now, yoi." Marco said in his own defense of the boys uncalled for accusation.

"OH, really. Then prove it!" Smirked Luffy now that he had Marco right where he wanted him. 

"Why should I?" Retorted Marco with a visible twitch near his eye, which Luffy chose to ignore.

"A REAL pirate never backs down from a challenge they face it head on..." Luffy began to say and then broke off for a second as if contemplating something. Luffy stopped rowing the boat beginning to sweat a little and then continued. "...unless you meet my Gramps then it's totally ok to do that whole _'strategic withdraw'_ thing because I wouldn't wish him on anyone. Well maybe except for like SUPER EVIL bad guys and even then I would probably still feel kind of guilty about it."

 _'He's been traumatized, yoi. That's the only explanation for this kind of fear. Though from what Ace said to Pop's before I can't say I'm surprised. It looks like when we get to the Moby Dick I'll have to give Ace and the brat some special training to help them get past their irrational fear of their grandfather.'_ Thought Marco with a smirk as he imagined all the grueling training he would put the two through in order to make them stronger. Little did he know that almost anything he would be able to come up with would pale in comparison to what Garp had already put his poor grandchildren through.

"Fine I'll sing but not that shitty song honestly where did you even here that from?" 

"Shishishi... Shanks and Ace used to sang a bunch of different versions to me a few years ago, but I changed some of the words." Laughed Luffy cheerfully as he thought of his older brother.

Marco closed his eyes and began to sing in a soft voice. "As the sun rises on East Blue Sea... Our homelands are far behind us... We are being chased by the Marine's... I am sure they will never be able catch us... Let us sail away from all our troubles..." 

Pleased that Marco had began to sing (even if it wasn't Luffy's totally awesome song) the young straw-hat teen preceded to once more row the boat towards the island in the distance. _'I like Marco's singing voice. It's calming just like Ace's. He's definitely way better at singing than Gramps or Dadan and her bandits. Shanks and his crew used to sing a lot to but they were normally drunk off their rockers every time they sang so I can't really compare them to Marco.'_

_**~~ Somewhere in the New World/Shanks & the Red Haired Pirates ~~ ** _

"AAHH-CHOO!!" Sneezed Shanks, Benn, Yasopp, and Lucky Roo all at the same time for the second time in the past week. After the red haired captain had composed himself he looked at his other crew mates and started to laugh.

" Dahaha... Well boys either some other idiot's gonna try and take our heads yet again or my little _'Anchor'_ is bragging about us." Laughed Shanks happily.

"It's been forever since we last saw Luffy hasn't it Captain? Around eight years I think?" Asked a tall man with straight long black hair with a fond smile on his face as he recalled their time spent on Dawn Island.

"Aye Captain I do believe Benn's right, it's has been a long time since we saw cute little Luffy." Stated Lucky Roo who was a some what shorter man with an extremely round belly as he chewed on the ever present meat in his hand.

"I wonder how much he's grown since then? He should be setting out to become a pirate in the next few years shouldn't he? Man it makes me wonder how big my own son Usopp is by now. They are the same age after all, I bet if the two of them ever met they would get along famously." Boasted Yasopp confidently.

"Yeah, yeah... I wonder how much trouble the kids managed to get himself into since we've last seen him? If we go by everything Ace told us of their childhood together I bet he's up to no good even as we speak. Man I can't wait to see how much my little _'Anchor'_ has grown over the years. I just know he's going become a great pirate someday." Sighed Shanks wistfully.

_**~~ Water 7/Ace & the Whitebeard Pirates ~~ ** _

"Ahah... AhCHOU!!" Sneezed Ace drawing the stares of some of the other Whitebeard Pirates that where currently out shopping for supplies with the young fire starter.

"Zehahaha... Bless you, Second Division Commander! I hope your not getting sick or something that would be terrible." Laughed a large heavy set man with curly black hair. The sound of the other man's laugh sent an unwarranted shiver down Ace's back. 

"Thanks Teach, I should be just fine though. I don't remember ever being sick even once in my life. It's probably just someone somewhere talking about me. You know because I'm just SOOO infamous." Joked Ace with a small smirk on his lip trying to shake the uneasy feeling he sometimes got when the other man was near.

"Really Ace you don't remember being sick even once in your life?" Asked Thatch in astonishment.

"Not only me, Luffy was well. Sure we got small fevers but that was only whenever we were severely injured. There was one time when Luffy was seven and got mauled by a giant bear that was in the forest. I thought for sure that he was gonna die, there was blood everywhere. Even then he only had a fever for half a day. After he got better both me and Luffy went a defeated the bear together, I couldn't have him growing up to being afraid of some stupid bear. After all we did live in a forest on a mountain, there were wild animals all over the place especially bears." Stated Ace proudly with a small chuckle turning towards the man with the pompadour only to notice Thatch looked a bit green in the face.

"Oi, what's wrong Thatch are you sick or something?" Asked Ace in concern. 

"When you where kids you and your little brother took down a bear by yourselves? The same bear that almost killed your little brother? When he was seven, which would have made you what like ten?" Questioned Thatch with a horrified look on his face.

"Hahaha.... That bear was huge. After Gramps heard about what a great job we did he threw us a feast with all the meat cooked on his Marine ship. It was way better than what we normally got to eat, but it was still nothing come compared to what you make Thatch. So thanks you for all the wonderful food!" Laughed Ace happily while offering a small bow to the cook.

"Why thank you for the compliment Ace. That means a lot to me, I always want people to enjoy my food. Now let's finish buying the rest of the food supplies we need so we can leave as soon as possible." Said Thatch joyfully walking on ahead with Ace right behind him. Both men failed to notice the sinister look on Teach's face as he stored away the new information he had just learned about the two division commanders.

_~~ Somewhere in the East Blue/Garp & His Poor Subordinates ~~ _

"With all due respect sir even though I mailed your acceptance letter to the newspaper you can't honestly expect the newspaper to publish something as trivial as a wager between a Marine and a pirate. It's just ludicrous." Informed Bogard in a dry tone as though he told his superior similar things on a daily basis.

"Bwahaha... Nothing to worry about there Senny will make sure they publish if only to save money on the months supply of donuts and rice crackers." Laughed Garp with a giant smile on his face. "Now all we have to do is catch that damned flaming turkey. I wonder if Luffy's asked him to lay him some eggs for breakfast yet."

"Even though he's grandson has been kidnapped he doesn't seem all that worried does he?" Asked one nervous recruit.

"It's as if nothing fazes Vice-Admiral Garp." Admired another in awe of the older man.

"It's nothing of the sort men, if the Vice-Admiral's grandson is anything similar to how the old man described him he's probably having the time of his life." Commented on of the older Marine's


	10. Koshiro of Shimotsuki Village

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy and Marco stop for food and other supplies at a place know as Shimotsuki Village where they meet a man named Koshiro who is the Master of Isshin Dojo.
> 
> Things marked with a * have notes at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow everybody there's already 10 chapters! To be honest I never really thought I had it in me to write this long, but here we are. I would like to say 'Thank You' to everyone reading.

"Oh, check out that building. It seems kind of cool doesn't it? I don't remember Dawn Island having any buildings like that."

Marco turned towards the building Luffy was pointing at, taking in the surrounds and stated. "That a dojo that teaches Kendo from the looks of it. They train future swordsmen* there."

"Really that's sounds so awesome, every pirate ship need at least one swordsman. Let's go check it out." Exclaimed the black haired teen happily pulling Marco in the direction of the building.

"Wait Luffy calm down a little. You wouldn't want to interrupt their training would you?" Reasoned Marco in a serous tone. _'How does the brat still have all this energy left he just spent the last half hour rowing our boat here by himself? This kid sure has a lot of stamina. Then again so does Ace. Even with his Narcolepsy Ace has never once had an narcoleptic attack during a battle before, which by the way is amazing in and of itself.'_

"T-traing...? Like for the _'Marine's'_ ? Is that why their all wearing similar clothing?" Stuttered out a somewhat tense Luffy who began looking around as if was afraid someone was going to jump out and attack him at any giving moment. 

The statement made Marco pause, he felt something nagging at his memory. _'Training for the Marine's, training for the Marine's... Oh that's right Ace said something similar before I left didn't he?'_

_**~~ Flashback ~~** _

_Gramps has been 'training' Luffy (and me) to be a 'Marine' for as long as he can remember. Gramps made him fight monkeys, threw him into a bottomless ravine, left him alone in the jungle at night, tied him to balloons and sent him flying into the sky, and not to mention his 'Fist of Love'. That's only some of the things that gramps did to him to, if my little brother wasn't made out of rubber I fear he would have never made it passed the age of seven." Ace stated in a serious tone._

_**~~ End Flashback ~~** _

"NO Luffy. Not that type of training. These trainees are here by their own choice. They came here to learn how to use a sword and be strong by their own choice, it wasn't forced upon them at least not here anyway. See just look at them the trainees look a little to happy to be here against their will." Explained Marco calmly while pointing to the group that was currently training outside. Even in the hot sun with sweet pouring down their bodies all the trainees where wearing looks of accomplishment and satisfaction on their faces. 

The blond smirking while thinking. _'They must teach the No Pain No Gain philosophy here, either that our their all secretly Masochists.'_

"Oh, good then. I guess we don't get to fight anyone then." Mumbled Luffy with a small pout on his face.

"If your really itching for a fight you could always try asking the Master of this dojo to if he would let you spar with one of his disciples." Marco carelessly let slip. The older man groans as he watches the young straw-hat teens face lights up in excitement after hearing what Marco said. _'Well shit!'_

"Really! It looks like this place might have some strong people to spar with here. I haven't had anyone to fight since Ace left. That is unless I should count the animals in the forest, but it seems like they've been getting weaker recently."

"Brat instead of them getting weaker, I believe it's more than likely that you've just been getting stronger." Stated Marco in amusement. 

"You really think so!? Yay!!" Luffy said happily while skipping into the direction of the dojo. "It's hard to tell some times. Ace, Sabo, and Makino always used to say that I didn't know my own strength. Though I've never once beat Ace, he always tells me how useless it is to be a Rubberman. Not that it bothers me anymore, I think being a Rubberman is AWESOME!! Still I think it's a little sad that I can't swim."

"There's no such thing as a useless Devil Fruit Luffy. You just need to find a way to use your ability to it's fullest. Figure out the strengths and weakness of your Gum Gum Fruit and become even stronger." Stated the First Division Commander firmly. 

"OH WOW your so smart Pineapple Head! I bet Ace likes you a whole lot!" Luffy flashed his signature D. smile at Marco. 

The smile along with the teens statement seemed to stun Marco for a moment. _'Did he just say what I think he said? "I bet Ace likes you a whole lot!" Yeah that definitely what he said.'_ That one simple sentence kept really playing in his mind like a broken record. Over and over again. Marco suddenly felt a tightening in his chest and it became hard for him to breath. _'Ace likes you a lot... Ace likes you a WHOLE lot!_

"Hey Pineapple Head are you ok? Your face looks kind of red and your breathing became funny all the sudden." asked Luffy with a look of concern now replacing his smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Mummbled the blond distractedly.

"Ok, if you say so." Said Luffy before running off ahead.

_'Snap out of it man there's no way the brat meant it that way and there's no way that that hot headed hottie has the hots for you. Hell your more than old enough to be his father... HIS FATHER for crying out loud! Though sometimes I could almost swear he was hitting on me. Now that I've met Luffy though I'm starting to think that our ships fire-starter might actually just be naively oblivious like his younger brother. Ok, now I feel like some sick pedophile even if Ace is legal. Wait... Would that make me a cradle robber wanna be then?'_ Marco was on the verge of a mental break down when he finally noticed that it was way to quit when there was a kid like Luffy around. 

"Damn it all! Where did that brat run off to now!" Cursed Marco in frustration being successfully distracted from his thoughts of a certain freckled faced young man. Looking around the man realized he should've already known where the straw-hat teen was going. The same place he had been wanting to go since they had arrived the dojo. The blonde began to run towards the building before the boy got into some sort of trouble.

"Shishishi.... Hey where's the person in charge I want to meet them!" Marco groaned as he heard Luffy yell cheerfully.

Right before Marco made it to Luffy the of the dojo opened. A tall skinny man with round glasses and long black hair that was tied together behind his back stepped out. He looked to be around forty years of age and was wearing traditional Samue* clothing.

"That would be me little one. My name is Koshiro. What may I ask is your business with me today about?" Inquired the man in a patient tone as if he dealt with similar situations on a regular biases.

"Marco said if I asked you nicely that you might let me spar with some of your students." Stated the straw-hat teen excitedly while rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

The man stared at Luffy in amusement as he tried to measure the the young teens actual strength ( _it was over 9,000!_ \- ok maybe not). While the young teen with the straw-hat looked relatively harmless he could sense a tremendous underlying power in him. _'It's such a shame really. If only Zoro hadn't gotten lost again last week. The green haired teen had been begging for a worthy challenge months and when one finally shows up my impatient disciple isn't here. I guess fate just has something different in store for the two.'_

"I'm sorry to tell you little one but the only one of my pupils that would have been a decent opponent for you has once again gotten himself lost. The poor young man has absolutely no sense of direction whats so ever. That want hold him back however, one day he will become famous for his three swords style. He claims that he will become _'The World's Greatest Swordman'_ in the future."

At that statement Luffy was captivated. ' _The World's Greatest Swordman, huh that sounds like my type of person. I hope that I meet him some day, because if I do I'm definitely gonna have him join my crew. After all he has his own amazing goal to achieve just like me. Not to mention he uses three swords. **THREE!** ' _

"What! He's not here? That's no fun, and I was soo excited to. Your student sounded really cool." Whined Luffy loudly with a dejected look on his face.

"Well then as an apology how about I treat you to a nice quit lunch at my house and show you around the dojo." Offered Koshiro kindly.

"FOOD!! Can we eat now? Like right now? Will there be any meat? I LOVE MEAT!" Yelled Luffy enthusiastically drawing the attention of Koshiro's many students. They all stopped their training to get a better look at the two newcomers. 

Koshiro was a bit take back by the young teens intense love of food. _'Wow this kid must really like food. At least he seems to be over the fact that he want get to spar with Zoro, though I get this uncanny feeling that I should be happy for that. As much energy as the both of them seem to have I shudder to think of what could have happened to my dojo if the two of them really would have fought here.'_

"Sure why not, I was getting kind of hungry myself." Koshiro replied with a small smile.

"Oi, brat you just can't go around acting like that. Just because the man offered to feed you doesn't mean you can immediately demand food from him. You haven't even told him your name yet." Scolded Marco as he came to stand beside Luffy. The blond man placed his hand on Luffy's head and forced Luffy to bow towards Koshiro. "Hello my name is Marco it's a pleasure to meet you, please forgive his rudeness."

"It's no problem at all, most of my own pupil's were very much like him when they first came here to. It's nice to meet you Marco my name is Koshiro and I am the Master of Isshin Dojo." Stated Koshiro as he extended his hand towards Marco. 

Marco shook the other mans hand with a small smile on his face and then explained. "It's the brat's first time leaving his home island and his just a bit over excited as you've probably already noticed."

"That's understandable though I get the feeling the little one's always a ball of energy. Follow me and we'll have lunch shortly." Koshiro said as he turned around and walked through the doors of the dojo.

"Shishishi... Pineapple Head right I completely forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me, Ace and Makino would be upset with me if they found out. Please forgive me. My name's Monkey D. Luffy and I'm gonna be the King of the Pirate's!" Proclaimed Luffy as he began to follow Koshiro.

The teens statement caused Koshiro to come to an abrupt halt and turn to look at Luffy. Then the man asked in a curious tone. "Pirate King you say, why would you ever want to be a pirate. You know their known as cold blooded criminal's who steal, rape, and murder innocent people right?" 

His outlook on pirates made Marco tense slightly prepared to fight if it came down to it. _'While I do agree most pirates are like that, Pops' has always told us that as long as we didn't hurt innocent people we could normally do what we wanted. To be honest though most of the Whitebeard Pirates just liked the fact that because of Pops we now had a home of our own, so we normally only caused trouble for other pirates or the Marines.'_

"Those people aren't real pirate's there just a bunch of fakes. REAL PIRATES are in it for the adventure, the freedom, and most of all their nakama*." Luffy said happily flashing his trademark D. smile. His remark set the other two men at ease.

"Haha... That's good to hear little one. There's not many pirate crews who feel that way in this day and age except for maybe the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates. I couldn't image someone as cheerful as you going down such a dark path. I wish you luck on your journey to becoming the next Pirate King. Just remember to stay true to yourself no matter what." Koshiro stated as he once again began to make his way deeper into the building where they usual entertained company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kendo - a Japanese form of fencing with bamboo swords, originally developed as a safe form of sword training for samurai, but Zoro's a swordsman so whatever.
> 
> Samue - loose-fitting cotton kimono-style top and trouser sets, are traditional Japanese casual and leisure wear.
> 
> Nakama - friends, comrades, allies, crew, or in some cases family.


End file.
